Thermostatically-controlled liquid-fuel burner



sepan, 1925. 1,554,403

v I.. s. CHADWICK THEMOSTATICALLY CONTROLLED LIQUID FUEL BURNER sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,403

-L.. Sy CHADWICK v,Tmiuwosfm'rICMM coNTRoLLzn LIQUID FUEL BURNER Filed FebA 26 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l HHHH nu nnnmn Q f77/@Wiarg 1,554,403 PATENT yoirICE..

LEE s. CHADWIcx, on SHAKER HEiiGii'is VlLLAGE. 0.1110, ASSEIGNOB 2510 THE. CLEVE- LAND METAL rizonnens ooivIrnNYoF CLEVELAND, eine, A

OHIO.

THEREOSTTICALLYeCONTlR-OLED LIQUIDfFUEL BUNElf.

mercenarios or Application led February 26,1921. kSerial N'o. 448,107.

To all' whom imag concern: y p

Be it known that I, LEE S. Gi-iiinwicn, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Shaker Heights Village, 'in lthe county 'ci yCnyahoga and State oi' Ohio, have invented a certain new and usefull Improvement ,in y'lliernmstatically-Controlledv Liquid-Fuel Burners7 .of which the following is a full, clear, and vexact description, lreieienee being had .to ,the accompanying drawings.

vThis invention relates to a thermostat'ic .control for liquid fuel hurnersofthe class wherein wicks are einployedand 'its funda-- kmental purpose yis vto provide nieans 'that will .operate automatically-to lower the Vwich when .the temperature of the flame exceeds a predetermined degree and thus pre. @lit the burner from overheating.

, A nrtheiqohject of .the `invention 'is to .provide7 in burners .of .theclass .employing wicks and involving .wick raising mechanism, Lthermostatic controlV means which is inteiplaced between the vwick -and wick raising mechanism vso ,thatthe ne'lation lle- .tween the wick vand said mechanism is anto matically varied accondingxto .the liet. ci .the flame, This permits the .fw'ick to headjnsted at will hy V.ineens .of the wick `raising jl mechanism lto produce 7.a flame Hof the `desired height when the burner is first "lighted, and insures said adpertinentcontinuing K v be seen that, through this arran-g eV-ineiit,I the ,excel-pt at .times ,when tie heato .the .llame ,exceeds 21A-given ,degree of temperature.

Another obj-ect of ,the intention 'isto'prowide .an adjnstifnentthrough which the ,thermostatic control means Amay loe made 'Lto operate at Vdifferent degrees of tfemperature, :and through ,which the relation between the theizinostatic .elements inlayy be `altered ,to compensate .for variations therehll. f- I ,l Fuither .objfts eretto pnov'idev ,thermostatically controlled liquid linelhlliielthat is substantial. ,and durable, compari*atively c simple .ofconstruction,positive fof action,l

Ithat `is not likely to getont ,otorden ,andis convenient of manipulation .and adjustment.

v.The :foregoing objects, ,and others .w will appear frie'm-tlieollowng desei are attained in the enihodinieiitsfoniy nvention herein .dischased,v *reference being y y l l ed' aplugthat isgthreaded lin-to 'the Vurper end oif lthe Vjtuhe 81,'.thejlower end `of the ,rod

had tothe accompanying drawings :wl-ienelin Fig. l is .a vcentral aerticalsectionth .a hurnerpconstructed yin,accorrlan,ce ormofiny inventioug Eig. 23's `a section on rough yith one the line 2 2 of Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a View, similar to Fig. 1,"of another Yforni ofthe invention. o f

ltrlhile my kinvention 'is applicable -to liquid i'uel burners oi" various types, I have elected to illustrate it in the present, in

ystance in connection with tubular bur-ners wherein cylindrical wicks are used.

kso.

Common to the two embodiments illustratedrin the drawings are tlielouter wick tube land the inner wick tube 2 wh-iclifai'e .connected at their lower ends by an 'annular vwall 3, thereby to` enclose a space e -ivfherein a. tubular or cylindrical wicl Iis contained. rThe wick is equipped with a carrier 7 xwhich embraces the bottom edge of the wick and entends upwardly along its inner side and has recesses or sockets 9 adjacent-its upper end. The upper portion of the inner {wick tube 2 isin rather close proximity to the wick, while its lower portion iis inset seinewliat from the plane of the former portion, through a shoulder 10,' so as to provide greater ,space between the inner wick tube and the wick for the accommodation et ngers 12,. rlllhese {ingers 'ha-Ve projections 13 ,that are engaged within the recesses or sockets 9 of the wick carrier, and thelhngeijs pass upwardly through slots 14 inthe 'shoulder l0 and are then directed downwardly 'inside the inner wick tube, it will wick may 'he raised and ,lowered 'by ineens of the Lingers 12. I shall presently describe the mechanism for accoinplishingthis resul-t,

v `The wick space i Aderives 'its v,supply of irel from a pipe 2O w'herewith it has-'conimui'iicative connection through afrittfing or elbow 421 that is shown as bound to sliep-ipe hy means of a. clamp I22. A. Haine spreader y25 reposes within the upper end` of the burner. 'v

which constitutes one of the thermostat-tic ele-- ,"ments. The otherelement 320i the thermo- :stat is 'in theliorm of a rod and 'its upper endalolemars against an abutment 33, representextending. into the casingBO. Pivotedr upon the casing 30, are a pair of substantially identical levers 36 which are opposed to eac 1 other in arrangement and extend through slots 37 in the side walls of the casing, said levers having ofrnset portions 38 extending side by side beneath the rod 32 and whereon said rod bears. The outer ends of the levers 36 are pivotally connected to the lower ends of the aforesaid fingers 12. A comparatively heavy compression spring 40 is shown as interposed between plates 41 and 42, the former plate bearing against the levers 36, and the latter resting upon a pin or abutment 43 which is carried by the casing 30 and is spaced a suitable distance above a second pin or abutment 44 that is also supported by the casing. The spring 40 tends to elevate the levers 36 and hold them in firm contact with the lower end of the rod 32` This unitary thermostatic structure, as I may term it, is mounted for vertical movement with respect to the burner parts, and in the present instance it is shown as guided through a spider 45 that is transversely disposed within the upper end of the inner wick tube and by having the side walls of the casing member 30 slotted, as indicated at 46, to embrace a shaft 50 that is j ournaled within brackets 51 that depend from the opposite sides of the burner structure. Beyond one of these brackets, the shaft is formed to provide a crank 53. A cam 54 is secured to the shaft 50 within the casing member 30, and is arranged to bear upon the opposed pins or abutments 43 and M. By means of this cam, when the crank 53 c,is swung upward and downward, the tubular casing 30, with the thermostatic structure, is raised and lowered, and through its connection with the wick 5, the wick is similarly adjusted.

The thermostatic element represented by the rod 32 which may be of aluminum, has a considerably higher coeiiicient of eXpansion than the element represented by the tube 31, which may be of steel.

Assuming then that the wick is lighted and .elevated to produce a flame of material height, the heat therefrom, rising about the thermostatic elements, will so aect them that the rod 32 lengthens and depresses the levers 36 against the action of the spring 40, drawing downwardly on the fingers 12 and lowering the wick to reduce the height of the flame. As the temperature of the parts falls, the rod 32 will contract or shorten, allowing the spring 40 to elevate the levers 36 and raise the wick.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3, the thermostatic elements are reversed as regards their relative coeiicient of expansion. IIere a'tube 60, which may be of a metal readily eii'ected by changes of temperature constitutes one of the thermostatic elements, and it encloses the other which is represented by a core 61 of porcelain or the like. The upper and lower ends of the tube 60 are closed by plugs 62 and 63, respectively, and a screw 65 is threaded through the former and has its lower end swiveled to a plate 66 that is secured to the top of the core 61.

lVithin the tube 60 and below the core 6l are pivotally supported upon pins 68, supported by the tube 60, a pair of levers 69. These levers are also pivotally connected at 70 to ears 71 that depend from a plate 72 attached to the lower end of the core 61. The levers 69 bear, in turn, upon levers 74 that are pivoted at to the tube 60 and their outer ends are connected to the fingers 12. A plate 76 bears against the levers 74, and a compression spring 77 is interposed between said plate and the aforesaid plug 63. A screw 8O has its upper end swiveled within a boss of the plug 63, as shown at 81, and is threaded through the end 82 of a tubular member S3 that is carried by a spider' 84 applied to the bottom of the burner structure. The lower end of the tube 60 is guided within the tubular member 83 and thereabove is slidably supported between ns 85 that extend from the inner wick tube.

It will be seen from the above that, by turning the screw 80,the thermostatic structure may be raised and lowered to similarly affect the wick by reason of its connections therewith through the fingers 12. Under excessive heat, the tube 60 elongates, and as it does it swings the outer end of the levers 69 downwardly and a like but-exaggerated effect is produced upon the levers 74 because of the engagement of the outer ends of the former levers with the latter levers adjacent their pivotal points. This action of the levers is such as will cause a depression of the wick. This condition will prevail until the tube 60 cools somewhat and contracts and allows the spring 77 to return the levers to their former positions and elevate the wick.

It is apparent from the foregoing that each form of the invention comprises broadly a structure involving a wick guide constituted of the tubes 1 and 2; a wick guided therein; a member (which in the first form is the casing 30 and in the second form the plug 63) supported by the structure and capable of vertical movement; mechanism in one instance the cam 64 and in the other the screw for so moving the member; a thermostat sustained by the member, and operative connections between the thermostat and the wick.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a burner of the character set forth, the combination of a supporting structure, a wick carrier adjustable therein, a thermoinvolving a wick guide, a wick supported therein for vertical adjustment, a member supported by said structure and capable of vertical movement, mechanism for so moving the member, a thermostat sustained by the member, and operative connections between the thermostat and the wick.

8. In a burner of' the character set forth, the combination of a supporting structure, a wick carrier mounted therein for vertical movement, a member sustained bythe structure for corresponding movement, mechanism supported by the structure for effecting the vertical movement of said member, a thermostat carried by the member, and operative connections between the thermostat and the wick carrier.

4. In a burner of the character set forth, the combination of a supporting structure,

' a wick carrier guided therein for vertical movement, a member movably supported by the structure, mechanism sustained by the structure for raising and lowering said member, a lever pivotally supported by the member, operative connections between the lever and the wick carrier, and a thermostatic element carried by the member and cooperating with the lever to rock the same upon its pivot when said element is affected by the temperature of the flame.

5. Inaburner of the character set forth, the combination with a supporting structure, a wick guided within the structure for vertical movement, a member movably supported by the structure, mechanism for adjusting said member in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the structure, a lever pivoted to the member, operative connections between the lever and the'wick, a thermostatic element carried by the member and serving to swing the lever in one direction when said element is affected by the heat of the flame, and a spring sustained by the member for moving said lever in the opposite direction.

6. In a burner of the character set for-th,

, the combination with a supporting structure,

a wick guided for vertical movement therein, a thermostatic couple movably sustained by the structure, means for adjusting the thermostatic couple vertically with respect to the structure, a lever pivoted upon an axis fixed with respect to one element of the thermostatic couple, the other element cooperating with the lever in such mannery as to swing it upon its pivot, and operative connections between the lever and the wick.

- 7. In a burner of the character set forth, in combination with the wick, a manually operable member, operative connections between said member and the wick whereby the wick may be 'raised and lowered by said member, and thermostatic means for automatically effecting a change of relation between the wick and said member.

8. In a cylindrical oil burner of the wick type, a thermostat extending axially from inside the burner to a point above the same so as to be surrounded by the flame, and means actuated by `the thermostat for reducing the size of the flame when the heat of the flame becomes excessive.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature. Y

LEE S. CHADWICK. 

